UNICEF lets you help by literally doing nothing

UNICEF has always been known for helping out those in need, but this time they’re doing something different. The UNICEF Tap Project has recently launched and it has received a lot of attention. The concept of the project is easy –– if you can go without your phone, you can help children get clean water. Basically, for every 10 minutes you don’t touch your phone, UNICEF donors and sponsors can fund one day of clean water for a child in need. Nothing time consuming, nothing too difficult –– just put the phone away.

It’s definitely a brilliant concept when you consider how dependent we have all become with our phones. In the age of the ever-present smartphone, UNICEF is doing a great thing while we essentially do nothing. In a way it also teaches us to not take things for granted. Our phones are definitely something we use mindlessly every day – having that accessibility to contact anybody at any hour of the day is not something everyone has, and the fact that we have that luxury and treat it like a birthright is an entirely different thing. We are also privileged enough to have clean, filtered water on a daily basis that we don’t struggle to find. Not only is the UNICEF Tap Project charitable –– it’s also teaching us to be grateful.

This is also a really great way to get people involved in a way that they want to be –– silently. As disappointing as it may seem to realize this, everyone wants to help those in need but no one wants to put in the work and there are only a few people that ever do. With the Tap Project, everyone is able to have their voice – everyone is able to help out as equally as everyone else.

The official website for the site opens up with a powerful message. “Millions of children lack clean water. How long can you go without something far less vital…like your phone?” After that message flashes on the screen, the site opens up to their goal for the project, a page about how it works, and a link to register. It’s straightforward and it’s easy – it’s something anyone can do and hundreds of people have started to. The website also has a page of statistics, including the number of people that have helped, the record times that people have gone without using their phones, the online garbage that people have avoided viewing by helping out and the top city who has helped out (the current stats show that so far UNICEF has managed to provide 4 years worth of clean water!) This page is probably the best one on the whole site. Not only is it informative, but it’s also kind of a wake up call – there’s so much more we could be doing to create change in the world instead of looking at cat videos.

The big deal here is that UNICEF has given people the opportunity to help out from the comfort of their homes, their schools, their workplaces, even in bed and that’s probably one of the smartest charitable campaign ideas out there.